Handling non existent values in sql query expression for ssrs chart

Question

I am using the following query in an ssrs line chart. It counts how many orders are recorded each month based on each order date.

My problem is that when a month has

Answer 1

You need a table containing months in order to make this work (or you can use a stored procedure or probably common table expression).

SELECT Months.Month, COUNT(Orders.OrderID)
FROM
 Months
LEFT OUTER JOIN
 Orders
ON
 MONTH(Orders.OrderDate) = Months.Month

Would ensure you got:

Month, Count
1, 1
2, 1
3, 2
4, NULL
etc