diff --git a/apps/opencs/model/prefs/state.cpp b/apps/opencs/model/prefs/state.cpp
index 4d191b90a4..4e7770121a 100644
--- a/apps/opencs/model/prefs/state.cpp
+++ b/apps/opencs/model/prefs/state.cpp
@@ -59,6 +59,8 @@ void CSMPrefs::State::declare()
         .setTooltip("Minimum width of subviews.")
         .setRange(50, 10000);
     declareEnum(mValues->mWindows.mMainwindowScrollbar, "Main Window Horizontal Scrollbar Mode");
+    declareEnum(mValues->mWindows.mSubviewOpenDirection, "Subview Open Direction")
+        .setTooltip("Controls whether new subviews open to the right or left of existing ones.");
 
     declareCategory("Records");
     declareEnum(mValues->mRecords.mStatusFormat, "Modification Status Display Format");
diff --git a/apps/opencs/model/prefs/values.hpp b/apps/opencs/model/prefs/values.hpp
index 7b6d5e9f5f..3cdfa41e94 100644
--- a/apps/opencs/model/prefs/values.hpp
+++ b/apps/opencs/model/prefs/values.hpp
@@ -81,6 +81,11 @@ namespace CSMPrefs
                 "Grow then Scroll", "The view window grows. The scrollbar appears once it cannot grow any further." },
         };
 
+        static constexpr std::array<EnumValueView, 2> sSubviewOpenDirectionValues{
+            EnumValueView{ "Open Right", "New subviews open to the right of existing ones." },
+            EnumValueView{ "Open Left", "New subviews open to the left of existing ones." },
+        };
+
         Settings::SettingValue<int> mDefaultWidth{ mIndex, sName, "default-width", 800 };
         Settings::SettingValue<int> mDefaultHeight{ mIndex, sName, "default-height", 600 };
         Settings::SettingValue<bool> mShowStatusbar{ mIndex, sName, "show-statusbar", true };
@@ -90,6 +95,8 @@ namespace CSMPrefs
         Settings::SettingValue<int> mMinimumWidth{ mIndex, sName, "minimum-width", 325 };
         EnumSettingValue mMainwindowScrollbar{ mIndex, sName, "mainwindow-scrollbar", sMainwindowScrollbarValues, 0 };
         Settings::SettingValue<bool> mGrowLimit{ mIndex, sName, "grow-limit", false };
+        EnumSettingValue mSubviewOpenDirection{ mIndex, sName, "subview-open-direction", sSubviewOpenDirectionValues,
+            0 };
     };
 
     struct RecordsCategory : Settings::WithIndex
diff --git a/apps/opencs/view/doc/view.cpp b/apps/opencs/view/doc/view.cpp
index ffc7400da3..f419f18fb7 100644
--- a/apps/opencs/view/doc/view.cpp
+++ b/apps/opencs/view/doc/view.cpp
@@ -663,6 +663,31 @@ void CSVDoc::View::addSubView(const CSMWorld::UniversalId& id, const std::string
 
     mSubViewWindow.addDockWidget(Qt::TopDockWidgetArea, view);
 
+    // Horizontal orientation doesn't respect layout direction, so we need to move the new view
+    if (windows["subview-open-direction"].toString() == "Open Left" && mSubViews.size() > 1)
+    {
+        // Get list of top-area dock widget subviews sorted by coordinates
+        QList<SubView*> orderedTopViews;
+        for (const auto& windowView : mSubViews)
+            if (windowView != view && mSubViewWindow.dockWidgetArea(windowView) == Qt::TopDockWidgetArea)
+                orderedTopViews.append(windowView);
+        if (!orderedTopViews.isEmpty())
+        {
+            std::sort(orderedTopViews.begin(), orderedTopViews.end(), [](auto* a, auto* b) {
+                if (a->x() != b->x())
+                    return a->x() < b->x();
+                else if (a->y() != b->y())
+                    return a->y() < b->y();
+                return a->getUniversalId() < b->getUniversalId();
+            });
+
+            // Split twice to make the new view the leftmost.
+            // If the leftmost view is nested, the new view will be added above it.
+            mSubViewWindow.splitDockWidget(orderedTopViews[0], view, Qt::Orientation::Horizontal);
+            mSubViewWindow.splitDockWidget(view, orderedTopViews[0], Qt::Orientation::Horizontal);
+        }
+    }
+
     updateSubViewIndices();
 
     connect(view, &SubView::focusId, this, &View::addSubView);
@@ -706,7 +731,11 @@ void CSVDoc::View::moveScrollBarToEnd(int min, int max)
 {
     if (mScroll)
     {
-        mScroll->horizontalScrollBar()->setValue(max);
+        CSMPrefs::Category& windows = CSMPrefs::State::get()["Windows"];
+        if (windows["subview-open-direction"].toString() == "Open Left")
+            mScroll->horizontalScrollBar()->setValue(min);
+        else
+            mScroll->horizontalScrollBar()->setValue(max);
 
         QObject::disconnect(mScroll->horizontalScrollBar(), &QScrollBar::rangeChanged, this, &View::moveScrollBarToEnd);
     }
@@ -1122,7 +1151,8 @@ void CSVDoc::View::updateWidth(bool isGrowLimit, int minSubViewWidth)
         if (newWidth + frameWidth <= rect.width())
         {
             resize(newWidth, height());
-            // WARNING: below code assumes that new subviews are added to the right
+            // WARNING: below code assumes that the frame geometry expands to the right.
+            // This doesn't conflict with subview-open-direction.
             if (x() > rect.width() - (newWidth + frameWidth))
                 move(rect.width() - (newWidth + frameWidth), y()); // shift left to stay within the screen
         }