wxAutomationObject application activation and Z-Order

[John Roberts]

I get a different response when debugging and when running release
builds when I start Word or Excel using

wxAutomationObject oleInstance;
oleInstance.GetInstance(...
oleInstance.PutProperty( "Visible",...
oleInstance.PutProperty( "WindowState", wdWindowStateNormal )
oleInstance.CallMethod( "Activate" )

When debugging with no break points set, the above sequence starts or
retrieves and shows Word on top of the wxWidgets application. However,
in release build or debug build when not running the VS debugger then
Word just flashes notification on the taskbar and is placed behind the
wxWidgets application.

This is reproducible in the OLE sample (32 or 64 bit) with Excel. It is
unintuitive and annoying behaviour because it requires the user to make
an otherwise unnecessary mouse action.

For me this is unexpected but maybe there is some esoteric rationale to
it. Can anyone shed any light on how to get a release build to bring
Word to the front on top of a wxWidgets app?

Thanks, John