--- title: "How to Add and Configure Absence Types" description: "How to add a new absence type, change an existing one or switch it off in Vitextra Absence & Coverage: the AbsenceTypes list columns, the seven default types, color, approval, private types, half days, yearly allowance, category and sort order, and what each change does to existing requests." url: https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10352 language: en published: 2026-10-28 modified: 2026-10-28 products: - "Absence & Coverage" author: "Lidija Reising" tags: ["add absence type", "configure absence types SharePoint", "AbsenceTypes list", "absence type color", "absence approval setting", "private absence type", "annual leave allowance", "half day absence setting", "Vitextra Absence & Coverage"] --- # How to Add and Configure Absence Types How to add a new absence type, change an existing one or switch it off in Vitextra Absence & Coverage: the AbsenceTypes list columns, the seven default types, color, approval, private types, half days, yearly allowance, category and sort order, and what each change does to existing requests. ## Overview Every absence request in Vitextra **Absence & Coverage** has a type: Vacation, Sick leave, Remote work and so on. The types are not hard-coded. They are rows of the `AbsenceTypes` list on the product site, and that list decides which types employees can pick, which color each type has in the calendar, whether a request needs approval, whether colleagues see the type name, whether half days are allowed and how many days per year an employee is entitled to. The product has no administration web part in this version, so you manage types directly in the list. This article explains every column, lists the seven types that are created by default and shows how to add, change and switch off a type. 📝 **Note** You need edit access to the product site. Changes apply as soon as users reload the page; nothing has to be published or deployed. --- ## Open the AbsenceTypes list 1. Open the product site — the site you selected for the web parts (see [KB10324. How to Add the Absence & Coverage Web Parts to a Page and Select the Site](https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10324)). 2. Go to **Site contents** and open the `AbsenceTypes` list. The list is filled with seven types when it is created. The names are written in the language of the person who selected the site first and are stored as plain text; they are not translated later for other users. ![The AbsenceTypes list with the seven default types](https://static.vitextra.com/articles/10352/absence-types-list-en.png) *The AbsenceTypes list with the seven default types* --- ## Columns of the AbsenceTypes list | Column | Meaning | Default for a new row | |:---|:---|:---| | `Title` | The name of the type shown in the request form, in the calendar and in the balance cards | — | | `Category` | `Vacation`, `Sick`, `Personal`, `Remote`, `BusinessTrip`, `Unpaid`, `Parental` or `Other` | `Other` | | `Color` | A hex color such as `#0078d4`, used for the type in the calendar, in the legend and in My Absences | Blue `#0078d4` is used when the cell is empty | | `RequiresApproval` | Yes: the request waits for the approver. No: the request is approved at once | Yes | | `IsPrivate` | Yes: colleagues see only "Away" instead of the type name | No | | `AllowHalfDay` | Yes: the request form offers the half-day check boxes | Yes | | `AnnualAllowance` | Days per year, one decimal. `0` means no limit and no balance card | 0 | | `Active` | Yes: the type can be selected in new requests | Yes | | `SortOrder` | The order of types in the request form; equal values are sorted by name | 0 | ## The default types | Type | Color | Approval | Private | Half days | Days per year | |:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---| | Vacation | `#0078d4` | Yes | No | Yes | 20 | | Sick leave | `#d13438` | No | Yes | Yes | no limit | | Personal day | `#8764b8` | Yes | No | Yes | 3 | | Remote work | `#107c10` | No | No | Yes | no limit | | Business trip | `#ca5010` | Yes | No | No | no limit | | Unpaid leave | `#69797e` | Yes | No | Yes | no limit | | Parental leave | `#e3008c` | Yes | Yes | No | no limit | The sort order of the default types is 10, 20, 30 and so on, which leaves room to insert your own types between them. --- ## Add an absence type 1. In the `AbsenceTypes` list, add a new item. 2. Enter the `Title`, for example "Study leave". 3. Choose the `Category` that fits best. 4. Enter a `Color` as a hex value, for example `#00b7c3`. 5. Set `RequiresApproval`, `IsPrivate` and `AllowHalfDay` as needed. 6. Enter `AnnualAllowance` if the type has a yearly limit; leave `0` otherwise. 7. Enter a `SortOrder` that places the type where you want it in the list. 8. Keep `Active` switched on and save the item. ![A new absence type in the AbsenceTypes list](https://static.vitextra.com/articles/10352/new-absence-type-form-en.png) *A new absence type in the AbsenceTypes list* Employees see the type in the **Absence type** drop-down of the request form the next time they open the panel. ![The new type in the request form](https://static.vitextra.com/articles/10352/request-form-type-dropdown-en.png) *The new type in the request form* --- ## Choosing the settings - **Approval.** A type without approval (Sick leave and Remote work by default) is approved when the employee submits it. Employees see a note about this in the request form. For the rules that decide who approves a request, see [KB10336. Who Approves Absence Requests: Manager, Fallback Approver and Self-Approval](https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10336). - **Private types.** Use `IsPrivate` for absences that colleagues should not read in the calendar, for example sickness. Details are in [KB10345. Private Absence Types: What Colleagues See in the Calendar](https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10345). - **Half days.** Switch `AllowHalfDay` off for types that are booked in full days only; the half-day check boxes are then hidden. See [KB10327. How to Request Half a Day Off](https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10327). - **Yearly allowance.** With a value above `0`, My Absences shows a balance card for the type. The value is the default for every employee; individual entitlements and carry-over days are set in the `Balances` list ([KB10353. How to Set Yearly Entitlements and Carry-Over Days](https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10353)). - **Category.** In this version the category matters in one place only: absences of the `Remote` category are not reported as missing a substitute in the Substitutions web part. The other values only classify the type. - **Color.** Pick colors that stay distinguishable next to each other, because the calendar uses them for the bars and for the legend. --- ## Change, switch off or delete a type What happens to requests that already exist depends on the change. | Change | Effect on existing requests | |:---|:---| | New `Color` or new `IsPrivate` value | Applies to all requests of the type at once, past and future, because the web parts look both up by the type ID when they draw the calendar | | New `Title` | New requests carry the new name. Older requests keep the name they were submitted with, in My Absences, the calendar tooltips and the CSV export; the legend shows the new name | | New `RequiresApproval`, `AllowHalfDay` or `AnnualAllowance` | Only new requests follow the new rule. Balance cards recalculate with the new allowance | | `Active` switched off | The type disappears from the request form and from the calendar legend. Existing requests stay visible in the calendar. In My Absences the balance card of the type is hidden and the colored dot of its requests turns gray | | Item deleted | Not recommended, see below | ❗ **Important** Do not delete a type that has requests. Requests refer to the type by its item ID, so after deletion they lose their color, their balance and their privacy rule: an old absence of a private type is then shown with its real name, and it is no longer reported as an absence without a substitute. Switch the type off with `Active` instead. 💡 **Tip** If no type is active, the **New request** button is disabled and My Absences asks you to add types to the `AbsenceTypes` list. To see how the settings show up for employees, read [KB10325. How to Request Time Off in My Absences](https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10325).