1997 Kia Sportage Question: Fuel filter problems

There is a website you would like
www.kiatechinfo.com it is the Kia factory website with factory manuals on line for free.
Did the car have problems/fail to start prior to replacing the fuel filter?
You need fuel spark and mechanical integrity of the engine for it to start and run.
If you have spark, and fuel pressure at the fuel rail on cranking can you hear the fuel injectors clicking (try putting a screw driver metal tip against the body of the fuel injector ,put the handle end up to your ear and get a friend to crank over the engine you should hear a clicking sound. You are in effect using the screw driver as a stethoscope). Also you could intentionally crank over the engine for a prolonged period of time and remove the spark plugs to see if they get wet with fuel or smell of fuel.
For the fuel injection and ignition to work it requires sensors to supply inputs to the computer, the computer interprets the signals and makes judgments to control the amount of fuel injected into the engine and when the spark arrives in the cylinder. Anything can be wrong without being able to do specific tests it is impossible for me to guess what is wrong.