This is the same question as on SuperUser, but I feel it has a better chance of being answered here, so ...
In Vim, I have four splits - two by two - and in the upper left one netrw is open. Is there a way to open a file from netrw in the lower right split, lower left, etc.?
there're some hints here https://superuser.com/questions/377501/keep-cursor-in-netrw-window-when-browsing-files-in-vim
Put this in your .vimrc,
to configure vertical preview splits, then when the cursor is over the desired file, type p to open a preview window. To close the window, type CtrlWz.
The term used in vim for a window that's opened without the cursor moving to it is a "preview window". To find out more about this, see
or just
and browse the table of contents for other browsing commands and other netrw features.