The reason the pictures are not displaying in Crystal Reports when using the IBM Informix ODBC Driver, it is because the
IBM Informix ODBC Driver does not return standard ODBC data type of database fields. When connecting to data source via an ODBC connection, Crystal Reports uses standard ODBC calls, and since the data type sent from the IBM Informix ODBC driver is not returning a standard data types, it is then not possible to recognize that the database fields actually contains pictures, and therefore it displays nothing on the report.
To be able to see pictures in Crystal Reports, configure the ODBC DSN defined on the IBM Informix ODBC Driver to use Standard ODBC Types.
To do so, follow the steps below:
1. Open the MS ODBC Data Source Administrator ( 32 bit )
2. Select the ODBC DSN that connects to the Informix data source using the IBM Informix ODBC driver, and click on the "Configure" button.
3. In the "IBM Informix ODBC Driver Setup" window, under the tab "Advanced", check the option:
"Report Standard ODBC Types Only"
4. Click "OK" to accept the change.
Now, when refreshing or creating a new report off Informix in Crystal Reports, it will displays pictures.
For future reference, see the SAP Knowledge Base Article:
1909574 - No picture displays on the report when reporting off Informix in Crystal Reports.