Making photoshop actions

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I've been wanting for years an action to make a new layer containing the
parts of a second layer that differ from a third layer (use case: make a
background copy, use dodge and other tools that alter the layer locally,
when done apply this action to extract the pixels that changed, then
delete the background copy. The result is being able to apply the
"lossless editing" paradigm even to tools that insist on altering pixels
on the layer).

Well, I finally figured out how to write one (I was trying to be too
clever before, in a stupid sort of way; it's easy if you just do subtract
in each channel, apply threshold at level one to each result, and then add
up the results).

However, now I'm wondering about a bunch of cleanup issues.  For example,
right now it's hardcoded  to use layers "background" and "background
copy".  Is there some way to get it to prompt me for layers, or use the
current layer and prompt me for another layer, or use the current layer
plus background (on consideration, that last is the best choice for my
workflow)?

Also, it creates new channels (in image calculations), and there's no
chance to name them.  They come up as alpha1, alpha2, and so forth.  What
if I have a channel by one of those names already in existence?  (I know,
I could experiment and see what happens, and eventually I will; but it
seems to me there should be ways in recording actions to handle these
problems, which will be common for non-trivial actions.)

Anybody an expert, or have a good reference work to point me to, or
something?
-- 
David Dyer-Bennet, dd-b@xxxxxxxx; http://dd-b.net/
Snapshots: http://dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/data/
Photos: http://dd-b.net/photography/gallery/
Dragaera: http://dragaera.info


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