Hello Edmund

Thank you for your interest in our plugin.

When you enable editing for that table, you can choose which user roles will be able to edit it:

You can add custom user roles using User Role Editor plugin, and then assign that role to the users who will be available to edit the table.

Hi again Edmund

Sure, if you connect that separate DB through wpDataTables settings, you can create tables from that database, which you can edit.

However, please note:

• Only one MySQL table can be edited at a time. Queries from multiple tables with joins cannot be used as an editable feature, since SQL UPDATE and INSERT statements are generated automatically, and there currently is no way to update multiple tables – but this problem is being investigated and pursued.
• Only MySQL tables or tables created with “Create a table manually” and “Create a table by importing data from data source” options of “Create a Table” page can be edited.
• Server-side processing MUST be turned on for front-end editing – Note: It will turn on automatically if you forget to enable it.
• MySQL Views cannot be edited properly – only one of the underlying tables can be edited if you pass the proper ID.