Why are cck fields included in body when getting a node?

Question

I have a content type that has several CCK fields: date, session number, session type, sold out, and homepage eligibility. The values of the fields are in no way stored in the body of the node as far as the database is concerned; here's the contents of the body field from one node in the node_revisions table:

<p>The word &ldquo;insight&rdquo; is one of the most misunderstood and misused words in the marketing world today, but it is also one of the most important. As consumers become more fragmented and individualized, they will increasingly look for brands that represent some aspect of who they are. Brands will have to understand their target from an insights perspective. It will no longer be sufficient to settle for target generalizations.</p>
<p>In this seminar participants will take his/her knowledge and application of insights to an entirely new level. This seminar will teach attendees how to:</p>
<ul>
  <li>Identify real insights and distinguish them from generalizations, significantly improving the quality of an organization&rsquo;s insights.</li>
  <li>&ldquo;Craft&rdquo; (rather than just articulate) an insight so it is evocative, breathing life into creative briefs/documents so they inspire.</li>
  <li><div>Connect a shopper insight to a corresponding consumer insight (insight connectivity): How does the life of the shopper outside of the store (the consumer&rsquo;s life) effect what they do in the store (the shopper&rsquo;s life)?</div></li>
</ul>

When I use the $content variable in a node template, though, the values of the CCK fields are printing as well. I did a print_r($node) to see what was happening, and this is what I get (some elements stripped out for brevity):

stdClass Object (
  [nid] => 383
  [status] => 1
  [created] => 1323794850
  [vid] => 383
  [title] => Advanced Consumer and Shopper Insights
  [body] =>

The word “insight” is one of the most misunderstood and misused words in the marketing world today, but it is also one of the most important. As consumers become more fragmented and individualized, they will increasingly look for brands that represent some aspect of who they are. Brands will have to understand their target from an insights perspective. It will no longer be sufficient to settle for target generalizations.

In this seminar participants will take his/her knowledge and application of insights to an entirely new level. This seminar will teach attendees how to:

    Identify real insights and distinguish them from generalizations, significantly improving the quality of an organization’s insights.
    “Craft” (rather than just articulate) an insight so it is evocative, breathing life into creative briefs/documents so they inspire.
    Connect a shopper insight to a corresponding consumer insight (insight connectivity): How does the life of the shopper outside of the store (the consumer’s life) effect what they do in the store (the shopper’s life)?

Date and Time: 
April 16, 2012
Session Number: 
S1
Session Type: 
Advanced Learning Session
Sold Out: 
Open
Homepage Eligibilty: 
Yes)

The last chunk of the body element (starting with Date and Time) are all CCK field names and values. Why are they included as part of the body? And what can I do if I don't want them displaying?

Answer 1

CCK fields, by default, are rendered into $content. The order depends on their order on the Manage Fields tab.

To not do this, edit the content type, and goto the Display Fields (or goto /admin/content/node-type/my-content-type/display).

Then set the fields/labels as Hidden or Excluded. I am spacing on the exact difference (too long since I set this up in Drupal 6), but I normally just use Hidden.