Creating handles for OSM objects

There are times when I have had to copy or modify objects in my OSM file by hand. I get that each object has a handle and that the objects refer to each other by handle instead of names. If I copy an object I usually just change a number or two in the handle to create a new one, is this ok? Is there a better way to create a handle for an OSM object?

Hey @hodor, first of all sorry about that new feature in OpenStudio 1.7.0, we will get to it eventually ;-)

Secondly, you shouldn't be modifying OSM files in a text editor unless you really have to. However, if you really have to, creating handles by changing a few digits is not a good idea. The handles are supposed to be Universally unique identifiers, changing a few digits is likely to end up generating conflicting handles at some point. There are several web tools that will generate good UUIDs for you. Just create a new version 4 handle for each object and you will be fine.