I have a chart that shows shipped quantities vs month/year date, with the
date on the x-axis. My manager, who is expert at finding trivial things for
me that take up hours to accomplish, asked me to make the leftmost data point
Jan 2009, and to make the graph series line intersect with the y axis -
currently, there's a small gap between the y axis and the graph series line.

There is an option in Excel to do this: Format Axis, followed by Horizontal
Axis Crosses: Set Axis Label, which is completely busted - when I force the
axis to begin on Jan 2009, it decides to begin on Jan 2010.

Aside from getting a new manager, any suggestions?

Okay. I got it myself. Format Axis - Position Axis - On Tick Marks.

:)

"Steven" wrote:

I have a chart that shows shipped quantities vs month/year date, with the
date on the x-axis. My manager, who is expert at finding trivial things for
me that take up hours to accomplish, asked me to make the leftmost data point
Jan 2009, and to make the graph series line intersect with the y axis -
currently, there's a small gap between the y axis and the graph series line.

There is an option in Excel to do this: Format Axis, followed by Horizontal
Axis Crosses: Set Axis Label, which is completely busted - when I force the
axis to begin on Jan 2009, it decides to begin on Jan 2010.

Aside from getting a new manager, any suggestions?

I understand your frustration with this issue. One solution to this problem is to manually adjust the minimum value of the y-axis to zero. Here are the steps to do this:

1. Right-click on the y-axis and select "Format Axis".
2. In the "Format Axis" pane, under "Axis Options", set the "Minimum" value to zero.
3. Click "Close" to apply the changes.

This should make the leftmost data point Jan 2009 and remove the gap between the y-axis and the graph series line. If you still encounter issues with the axis starting on Jan 2010, you can try adjusting the "Maximum" value of the y-axis to ensure that all data points are visible.

Another solution is to use a combination chart, which allows you to have two different chart types on the same chart. You can create a column chart for the data points and a line chart for the series line. This will ensure that the series line intersects with the y-axis. Here are the steps to create a combination chart:

1. Select the data you want to chart.
2. Click on the "Insert" tab and select "Combo Chart".
3. In the "Change Chart Type" dialog box, select "Column" for the data points and "Line" for the series line.
4. Click "OK" to create the chart.

I hope these solutions help you resolve the issue with your chart. Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.