Question: In Excel you can return a dynamic array `System.Object[*]`, from a series object using `XValues`. In .NET 3.5 you can access the elements in this object by casting it to and array, i.e.:

```
var values = (Array)series.XValues;

```

In .NET 4.0, this no longer works, and the message

> 
> "Unable to cast object of type 'System.Object[\*]' to type 'System.Object[]'"
> 
> 
> 

is given.

Any ideas? The following doesn't work:

* Casting it as dynamic.
* Casting it to a `System.Object[*]`.
* Just placing the object in a for each loop.
* Trying to access the value directly using `values[1]`, neither when cast as a dynamic.

The values inside the array do show up in the debugger however.

Answer: 
There are two distinct kind of arrays in .NET, a one dimensional 'vector' and multidimensional arrays. You got the latter back, a multidimensional array with a rank of 1. This will happen if the unmanaged code has returned a SAFEARRAY whose lower-bound isn't 0.

You can read the content of the array with Array.GetValue(). Or convert it, like this:

```
    private static object[] ConvertArray(Array arr) {
        int lb = arr.GetLowerBound(0);
        var ret = new object[arr.GetUpperBound(0) - lb + 1];
        for (int ix = 0; ix < ret.Length; ++ix) {
            ret[ix] = arr.GetValue(ix + lb);
        }
        return ret;
    }

```

Test:

```
    var native = Array.CreateInstance(typeof(object), new int[] { 42 }, new int[] { 1 });
    var dotnet = ConvertArray(native);

```

---

NOTE: you may have a problem in .NET 4.0 and up when you some COM type libraries, Office in particular. The property or method may return a variant that contains an array. Ends up as *dynamic* in your C# program. The C# compiler does not generate the proper binder code in that case. Work around that by casting first to (object), then to (Array).
The answer above is useful but does not address the issue of how to cast to Array.

Under .Net versions before 4.0 a simple cast would work. 

in C# 4.0 one must use 

```
System.Array a = (System.Array)((object)  returnedObject ); // note order of brackets

```

see
<http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mshneer/archive/2010/06/01/oh-that-mysteriously-broken-visiblesliceritemslist.aspx>