Non-active selections in FCP 7

Hi all:
I am instructiong a friend over the phone with FCP 7 setup but he has an issue I have never encountered before. When he launches FCP 7 certain functions are gray and not able to be activated, including HIDE FINAL CUT PRO, HIDE OTHERS, and QUIT FINAL CUT PRO. I have never run into this before and as he is 2,000 miles away I cannot get on his computer to figure it out. Ever run into this before?
Stan

The only time that happens to me is when FCP isn;t actually the foremost window. Does FCP show up in the menubar, or "Finder"?