This disclosure describes improved systems and methods for visualizing the application of changes to respiratory settings in a ventilatory system. Specifically, the present disclosure provides for a setup animation window that may be easily accessed from a setup icon, for example, and also provides for a settings animation window that may be easily accessed from any number of displayed ventilatory settings. In fact, the setup animation window may be directly accessed by touching, clicking, or otherwise selecting the setup icon and may expand from the setup icon to display any number of settings access elements. Alternatively, the settings animation window may be directly accessed by touching, clicking, or otherwise selecting any one of the displayed ventilatory settings and may expand from the displayed ventilatory settings to provide corresponding settings access elements. The corresponding settings access elements each corresponding to an individual ventilatory setting of the displayed ventilatory settings and useful for efficiently adjusting the displayed ventilatory settings. Ventilatory settings may be changed and accepted via either animation window. In one embodiment, upon accepting settings changes from the settings animation window, settings may appear to visually float or fade into the displayed ventilatory settings. In this embodiment, clinicians may view the settings changes as they are accepted and applied to the GUI.