Frustration with UniqueIdentifiers (GUIDs)

We're trying to set a new standard at my office, of using GUIDs as database ID fields - all new tables in all databases will have a GUID as the ID field, using the UniqueIdentifier data type.

The problem that we are running into, is that different applications interpret the UniqueIdentifier data type differently - ADO 2.x interprets it with the opening and closing { } braces. ADO.NET does not include the { and } in the GUID structure, SQL Server Query Analyzer does not include the { } braces, and SQL Server Enterprise Manage does include the { }

so we end up with results like this:

ADO 2.x: {012345678-abcd-ef01-2345-6789abcd}
ADO.NET: 012345678-abcd-ef01-2345-6789abcd
Query Analyzer: 012345678-abcd-ef01-2345-6789abcd
Enterprise Manager: {012345678-abcd-ef01-2345-6789abcd}

The problem with this is in two parts:
1) VB6 does not have a GUID structure or data type, so we are treating GUIDs as strings... but VB6 doesn't recognize "{012345678-abcd-ef01-2345-6789abcd}" and "012345678-abcd-ef01-2345-6789abcd" as the same string
2) when sending a URL link through an email, the { } braces break the link - in all email applications that we have tested. This include Groupwise 6, Groupwise 6.5, IPSwitch Web IMail, Outlook 2000, and Outlook Express (IE 6).

We're becoming very frustrated with the problems at hand, and need to know how others have worked around these problems. Please respond with any kind of advice or any real life situations where you have encountered this and found a solution, etc.

Thanks.The workaround is simple: program around it.

Standardize on the "new form" without curly braces and never show the m in any other way.

In "old vb" this means writing two little transform methods. Hardly a hugh task.|||so you're basically saying that every application we ever write with GUIDs has to have special processing code inside of it to handle guids?

that doesn't seem to be very smart, if you ask me.|||Well every application you ever write will not connect to several different types of data sources, will it?

And the 2 odd lines of code in every application... is too much? Really? Then I question the need for GUIDs in your application. Why did you feel the need to use them?