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I'm trying to type this on mSE \begin{pmatrix} x_1 \\ x_3 \\ x_3 \\ x_4\\ \end{pmatrix}, is rendering like this for me enter image description here

what to do?

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    $\begingroup$ Check out the MathJax basic tutorial and quick reference section on Matrices. Your first "column" expression is MathJax, while your second expression is just an image. The last image is badly cutoff. I'm unclear what you found difficult about typing a row matrix (the separator for row entries is an ampersand, if that is what you needed to know). $\endgroup$
    – hardmath
    Commented Oct 16, 2022 at 16:49
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    $\begingroup$ I typed the exact same code on MSE, and this is what I got. Tha's the issue $\endgroup$
    – math and physics forever
    Commented Oct 16, 2022 at 16:51
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    $\begingroup$ It looks like you are not using MathJax correctly, which is why I referred you to the basic tutorial post about such things. Would it help if I wrote out the correct syntax for a column matrix and a row matrix? Or can you link to a post on Math.SE where you had this problem? $\endgroup$
    – hardmath
    Commented Oct 16, 2022 at 17:41
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    $\begingroup$ Occasionally problems with MathJax can be traced to an unconventional use of \newcommand or \def somewhere else on a page, see e.g. here. I don't suspect that is your difficulty, but having a link to the page where you tried to "type this on mSE" would help to diagnose what is going wrong. $\endgroup$
    – hardmath
    Commented Oct 16, 2022 at 17:51
  • $\begingroup$ I see, thanks. As for linking to the post, I didn't post it because of the problem I faced $\endgroup$
    – math and physics forever
    Commented Oct 16, 2022 at 18:44
  • $\begingroup$ If the screenshot is from the post preview (i.e. while you were composing the post), then I think I have also experienced this sometimes. Adding four backslashes instead of two fixes the display in the preview in such cases. But even if I don't do that, it ends up looking fine after submitting the post. $\endgroup$
    – The Amplitwist
    Commented Oct 18, 2022 at 3:39
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    $\begingroup$ Here is an old discussion mentioning this: Willie Wong's answer to 'Using the align environment?'. I don't know why this issue sometimes (very rarely) recurs for me; I've just assumed that it is due to a poor internet connection. Perhaps your issue is the same... $\endgroup$
    – The Amplitwist
    Commented Oct 18, 2022 at 3:43

1 Answer 1

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To sum up what's been mentioned in comments:

If you use the \\ separator in the pmatrix block you get \begin{pmatrix} x_1 \\ x_3 \\ x_3 \\ x_4 \\ \end{pmatrix} and if you use the & separator you get \begin{pmatrix} x_1 & x_3 & x_3 & x_4 \end{pmatrix} and if you use them both you can get \begin{pmatrix} x_1 & x_3 & x_3 & x_4 \\ x_1 & x_3 & x_3 & x_4 \end{pmatrix}

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