How to apply for a Schengen visa? [closed]

I suspect that these steps are not laid out anywhere on the internet, so here goes:

1. A Schengen visa applies only to short stays of 90 days or fewer. These are also called "uniform" Schengen visas. The C visa is for normal visits; the A and B visas are for transit only. Schengen countries also have other categories of visa that authorize longer stays (for example, the D visa), but these are beyond the scope of this question because the rules governing these visas are not standardized from country to country, and the longer-term stay is authorized only for the issuing country.

2. To get a Schengen visa, you must have a planned itinerary that includes travel in the Schengen area. The itinerary must obviously comply with the short stay rules: You may not be in the Schengen area for more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

3. There are rules that control which country in your itinerary should process your application and, if approved, grant the visa. With your itinerary in mind, use the rules to decide which country you need to apply to:

   1. If your itinerary includes only one Schengen country, that is the country to which you must apply.
   2. If your itinerary includes more than one Schengen country, but one country is the "main" destination of your trip, judging either by the length of your stay in that country or by its importance to the purpose of your trip, then the main destination country is the one to which you must apply.
   3. If your itinerary includes more than one Schengen country, but there is no main destination country, you must apply to the first Schengen country in your itinerary, that is, the country where you will first enter the Schengen area.

   (The source for the above information is http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/india/more_info/faq/schengen_visa_en.htm#faq6)

4. You must apply to the consulate that serves the area where you live. Some countries have agreements to represent one another for the purposes of visa applications. For example, Portugal has arranged for Italy to process its visa applications in Albania, so if Portugal is the country to which you need to apply, and you live in Albania, you must apply at the Italian embassy. You can find out where you need to apply by visiting the web site of the country in question, or by asking at one of its diplomatic missions.

5. Once you have identified the diplomatic mission that will process your application, you must ask that mission for the details of the application procedure, including the supporting documents you should submit. These details can vary somewhat.

The page linked above has a lot of well organized information about the process. The page is written with Indian residents in mind, but most of the information is general and will apply to all applicants, regardless of location.

If that link is unavailable, you should be able to get the same information by asking at the consulate or embassy of the country you want to visit. You should be able to find contact information for the country's diplomatic representation from the ministry of foreign affairs in the country where you live, or perhaps from another ministry.