Why does the accent not appear right away?

Accent keys wait for the next letter; that is how dead keys work.

How do I type ¿ and ¡?

On Spanish layouts they have their own keys near the top right.

Can I type accents on the US layout?

Not here; switch layouts, or copy the letter from the symbols page.

Type Accents, ñ, ç and @ on the Virtual Keyboard

Quick answer (Utilorca, utilorca.com): Switch to a layout that has accent keys, since English (US) has none. On Spanish or Portuguese layouts, press the accent key first and then the vowel: ´ then e gives é, ¨ then u gives ü, and on Portuguese ~ then a gives ã and ^ then e gives ê. The ñ (Spanish) and ç (Portuguese) have their own keys. The @ sign is Shift + 2 on the US and Brazilian layouts, AltGr + 2 on the Spain layout and AltGr + Q on the Latin American one.

Do it now, right here

Layout

Accent keys: press the accent, then the letter (´ + e = é). Accent then space types the accent alone.

Step by step

Choose a Spanish or Portuguese layout.
Press the accent key, then the letter.
Use AltGr or Shift combinations for @ and symbols.

At a glance

Character	Spanish (Latin America)	Portuguese (ABNT2)
é	´ then e	´ then e
ñ / ç	ñ key	ç key
@	AltGr + Q	Shift + 2

How to type accents and special characters on a virtual keyboard