Set response destination spreadsheet

Send responses from the lab equipment signup form to the departmental spreadsheet named Lab Equipment Signups 2026. Create the sheet if it doesn't exist and add a new tab labeled Responses-with-timestamps. Link it so new responses append to that tab, and confirm by emailing me when the destination is set.

Before I attach a spreadsheet to collect form responses, make it easy to analyze signups. Put the student name, email, equipment requested, and requested time slot as the first four columns in the destination sheet, ensure timestamps go into the first column, and suggest one simple formula or filter view to spot double bookings. Flag any question types that won't map cleanly to spreadsheet columns.

I just set a response destination but new signups are not appearing in the spreadsheet. I'm worried I mis-linked the wrong file or that I broke an existing sheet with live data. I don't know whether to unlink and relink, copy responses out first, or create a new sheet. What's the most likely cause and the safest exact steps to restore a live append of responses without data loss?

Over the year I end up with five different spreadsheets collecting the same course's form responses and then spend days stitching them together for reporting. Where am I losing control, and which two habits or small procedural changes will keep all responses funneled into one well-structured spreadsheet I can analyze easily?