Importing csv

I am brand new to HeidiSQL and have recently connected to an RDS database. I am trying to import csv files so that it automatically recognizes the columns, the column formats, etc to avoid going through and individually creating each table. When I try to import a csv, I enter the filename path, select the right database, but am left with no options to select under the table drop-down so I'm wondering if I do need to create each table first. Any suggestions? Thanks.

You have to have a fitting table before importing a .csv file into it. There is no automatic creation done, it's just a data import.

I've created a fitting table in the appropriate database but when I select tools/import csv it doesn't recognize that there's a table under that database. Any ideas about what I'm doing wrong?

Probably Heidi did not yet take notice of that new table because it was not created through Heidi's table designer. In that case you just need to press F5 or the refresh button on the main tool bar, so the tree knows there is a new table. Of course a restart of Heidi has the same effect.