A GUID (globally unique identifier) is a long code that identifies one object uniquely. In IFC, every object has a GlobalId, a 22-character compressed form of a GUID.
Stable GlobalIds matter: BCF issues, model comparisons, asset registers and linked data all point to elements by their id. If an authoring tool writes new ids on each export, those links break. Most tools keep ids stable if the same element is exported again.
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