Extract tool and clipping paths

Can you use the extract tool to make a clipping path
I guess what I am trying to do is find the best way to mask out backgrounds and still maintain clean natural edges. But I want to be able to use the background also in all publications - so I want to save it as a clipping path and not lose the background forever.

I have tried the pen tool - but the result is a little jaggedy and not as smooth as I like. Any advice?

guess what I am after is what is the best and easiest way to mask out backgrounds as selections so if you need them later you can still use them?

have you tried save selection as a channel? I don't know if you can do that with extract, but it'll work w/all the other selection methods. (paths, marquees, quick mask, etc.)

Stephen, there's no reason to lose anything. Just make multiple copies, (as layers), of your intital background layer, do your extraction, load your extracted subject as a selection, (Ctrl+Click on the layer), switch to one of the original copied layers and delete.