--- title: "Why You Should Edit Absences in the Web Parts and Not in the List View" description: "Why absence requests and substitutions in Vitextra Absence & Coverage should be changed in the web parts rather than in the SharePoint list view: how dates are stored, which lists are safe to edit directly, what to avoid and how to correct a mistaken request." url: https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10358 language: en published: 2026-10-28 modified: 2026-10-28 products: - "Absence & Coverage" author: "Lidija Reising" tags: ["edit absences in list view", "absence dates shifted by one day", "SharePoint date-only column time zone", "correct wrong absence request", "cancel and resubmit absence", "edit Absences list", "Absence & Coverage FAQ", "safe to edit lists"] --- # Why You Should Edit Absences in the Web Parts and Not in the List View Why absence requests and substitutions in Vitextra Absence & Coverage should be changed in the web parts rather than in the SharePoint list view: how dates are stored, which lists are safe to edit directly, what to avoid and how to correct a mistaken request. ## Overview Vitextra Absence & Coverage keeps all data in ordinary SharePoint lists on the product site, so an administrator can open any of them and edit an item. For some lists this is exactly how the product is meant to be maintained. For the `Absences` and `Substitutions` lists it is not: these hold the requests and the cover arrangements of your employees, and the web parts write them in a way that the standard list view does not reproduce. This article answers the questions administrators ask most often. --- ## Why shouldn't I change a date in the list view? The date columns of the product lists, such as `StartDate` and `EndDate`, are **date-only** columns. When a web part saves a date, it writes it as **local noon** of the chosen day. Noon is far enough from midnight that the stored day stays the same when SharePoint converts the value between time zones. A date that you type into the list view is saved with a different time of day. For viewers in other time zones such a value may be displayed **one day off** — for example, a vacation that starts on Monday shows up in the Team Absence Calendar of a colleague abroad as starting on Sunday. As a precaution, always change dates through the web parts. ❗ **Important** The list view is a different tool for a different job. Several values of a request are calculated by the web part when it is saved and are not recalculated when you edit a field in the list. --- ## What else is not recalculated? A request is more than its dates. When it is created, the web part also stores: | Value | Where it is kept | What happens if you edit the dates in the list | |:---|:---|:---| | Number of working days | `WorkingDays` | Not recalculated; balances and the calendar still use the old number | | Title of the item (person and type) | `Title` | Not updated | | Name of the absence type | `TypeName` | A copy of the type title made at request time; not updated when the type is renamed | | Substitutions of the request | `Substitutions` list, `AbsenceId` | Dates of the substitution remain as they were | The web parts also match requests by the text column `EmployeeEmail`, not by the person column `Employee`. Changing the person in the list therefore does not move the request to another employee's list. --- ## Which lists can I edit directly? There is no separate administration web part in this version, so the lookup lists are edited in the list itself. | List | Edit in the list view? | Notes | |:---|:---|:---| | `AbsenceTypes` | Yes | Add types, change colour, approval, allowance. See [KB10352. How to Add and Configure Absence Types](https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10352) | | `Balances` | Yes | One row per person, type and year. See [KB10353. How to Set Yearly Entitlements and Carry-Over Days](https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10353) | | `Holidays` | Yes | One row per day. See [KB10354. How to Add Public Holidays](https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10354) | | `Settings` | Yes | Keys `WorkDays`, `FallbackApprover`, `AllowNegativeBalance`. See [KB10355. How to Set the Working Week](https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10355) | | `Absences` | No — use the web parts | Requests, with calculated values | | `Substitutions` | No — use the web parts | Cover arrangements, linked to requests by `AbsenceId` | ![The six lists of the product site](https://static.vitextra.com/articles/10358/product-site-lists-en.png) *The six lists of the product site* --- ## What should I avoid? - **Do not rename internal columns** or change their type. The web parts read the lists by internal name; a column that no longer has its original name cannot be read. - **Do not delete or add items in `Absences` and `Substitutions`.** A deleted request leaves substitutions that still refer to it, and an item added by hand lacks the calculated values. - **Do not set the status of a request by hand** (except as a last resort, described below). Cancelling in the web part also cancels the substitutions of the request; the same change in the list does not. - **Do not alter the keys in `Settings`.** They are matched exactly, including the letter case. 📝 **Note** After adding or changing holidays, open the Team Absence Calendar and check that each public holiday is shaded on the intended day. Holiday dates are also date-only values. --- ## How do I correct a mistaken request? The safe way is to **cancel the request and submit a new one**. Cancelled requests do not count in the balance and do not block the new dates. 1. Open My Absences and find the request in **My requests**. 2. Select **Cancel request**. There is no confirmation dialog: the status changes to **Cancelled** immediately, the days are released and substitutions of the request are cancelled. 3. Select **New request** and enter the correct data, including the substitute. ![Cancelling a request to correct it](https://static.vitextra.com/articles/10358/cancel-request-action-en.png) *Cancelling a request to correct it* The **Cancel request** action is available for requests whose end date has not passed yet. After that the web part offers no way to change the request. --- ## What can an administrator do for a past request? If a request that has already ended must be corrected, an administrator may change its `AbsenceStatus` to `Cancelled` in the list and the employee then enters a correct request. Change only that one column. Afterwards open the Substitutions web part and check that no cover tied to the old request remains active; the absent person can cancel it there. 💡 **Tip** For the day-to-day work, ask employees and managers to use the web parts only, and keep edit rights to the lookup lists with the people who maintain them. More about the lists is in [KB10351. Absence & Coverage Lists: What Is Stored Where](https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10351).