Q:

How to create a new file in unix?

How do I create a new file in a different directory? If the file exists it should also create a new file.
I am using the command:
Touch workdirectory/filename.txt

A:

Try > workdirectory/filename.txt
This would:

truncate the file if it exists
create if it doesn't exist

You can consider it equivalent to:
rm -f workdirectory/filename.txt; touch workdirectory/filename.txt

A:

The command is lowercase: touch filename.
Keep in mind that touch will only create a new file if it does not exist! Here's some docs for good measure: http://unixhelp.ed.ac.uk/CGI/man-cgi?touch
If you always want an empty file, one way to do so would be to use:
echo "" > filename

