I always use a Form to enter the Criteria (Filter) in and then use that on a Pre-Query which I then Crosstab. That way you can get the "Criteria" working in a normal select query and then Crosstab it.
I am not sure if Access 97 is the same as Access 2000-2003, but if it is you will have to Declare the Criteria as Parameters.
I use the Forms![Formname]![Fieldname] in both the Criteria row and parameters, where Formname is the actual name of your form and Fieldname is the actual name of your field.