Question about letter combinations on number pad?

I bought an extra number pad / number pad so that I could type in Spanish letters using Word and Alt + digit combinations on my notebook. What confuses me is that after entering the number combination, nothing happens at first and only after entering the next letter does the character previously requested via the combination appear instead of the next character. I mean with that:

If I want to enter España, ie Espa - then the combination for "ñ" and then type the last "a" of the word, then the ñ appears instead of the "a". That bothers and was not so definitely on my last laptop, which had a number pad thanks to its size. What can I do? Otherwise the pad seems to work well.

Maybe it helps to press Enter on the number pad or let go and press Alt again? That is what comes to my mind now.

With some Spanish characters it is the case that they come only one character later, e.g. Accents or ~.

Try if necessary also let go of ALT_GR + 4, and then n, i.e. ~ and n, for ñ.

Any idea how to do this in combination with the TAB is just a tip. If he doesn't help you, ok. I tried it ;-)

Thank you for your prompt reply! Entering on the number pad is actually a possibility, even if it is of course still more cumbersome than I actually would have liked. That is at least 4-5 keys for just one letter. But still better than before.

Sure, e.g. It doesn't come until you enter ALT + 164 and then release ALT. Assume ALT just stays blocked on your tab. Maybe tap that again. But OK. With Enter it is certainly better than with a or get used to it.