It took me 5 months of learning Spanish to realize that I had keyboard shortcuts for Spanish accent marks on my Mac. I also found out that your computer, be it Windows or Mac, has a Spanish Keyboard that you can switch to. Here is the low down on all your Spanish typing needs.
Keyboard Short Cuts For Spanish Accents
Windows
á = Alt + 0225
é = Alt + 0233
í = Alt + 0237
ó = Alt + 0243
ú = Alt + 0250
ñ = Alt + 0241
ü = Alt + 0252
¡ = Alt + 0161
¿ = Alt + 0191
For Mac
Opt + e, then a = á
Opt + e, then e = é
Opt + e, then i = í
Opt + e, then o = ó
Opt + e, then u = ú
Opt + n, then n = ñ
Opt + u, then u = ü
Opt + 1 = ¡
Opt + shift + ? = ¿
*In some newer PCs with Microsoft Office These may also work: For accented vowels: Press Ctrl + ‘, then the vowel (ctrl + ' + a = á). For Ñ: Press Ctrl + ~, then the letter n (ctrl + ~ + n = ñ)
How to Reset Your Keyboard to a Spanish One
If you plan on typing Spanish accented letters on a regular basis then you might want to change your keyboard from an English one to a Spanish one. It's fairly easy to do and shouldn't take more than a minute or two.
Windows 8
I'm a Mac guy but here's a tutorial on how to change languages on your Windows 8 keyboard.
Mac OS X (Yosemite)
1. Go to system preferences
2. Go to Languages & Region
3. Go to Keyboard Preferences
4. Click on the plus sign in the bottom left corner
5. Select Spanish and Add
(If you're used to an English Keyboard it may be harder to transition to a Spanish ISO keyboard because of the greater distance in button placement.)
