Your best bet for FW97 is to go to the View menu, select "Preferences." Then, in the "Display" tab, find the WB Document Color box. Select "Use Pen 0." this will change the document color to grey, and make FW97 a bit more usable.
But the "charcter" pointer still have the same color as the document , and the only way to find out where ÿou are is to folow the indication in the rulers.